


The Attack

by highflyerwings



Category: Actor RPF, Star Trek RPF
Genre: BFFs, Fluff, Gen, Schmoop, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-26
Updated: 2013-12-26
Packaged: 2018-01-05 21:29:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1098788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/highflyerwings/pseuds/highflyerwings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chris attacks Zach with a sneak hug at a most inopportune moment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Attack

**Author's Note:**

> Response to [this prompt](http://community.livejournal.com/trek_rpf_kink/1765.html?thread=2021093)

During his routine walk with Noah at 9:45 am, on March 22nd, Zachary Quinto received a call from his agent:

 “Hey Zachary, I’ve got a proposition for you.”

“Yeah? And what’s that.” Zach prepared himself. His agent always used the term “proposition” when dealing with situations she knew Zach wasn’t likely to respond well to. He tucked his cell-phone between his ear and shoulder as he switched Noah’s leash from his left hand to his right.

“How does presenting an award at the Oscars sound?”

Zach stopped mid-stride, causing Noah to yank slightly on the leash. The pup turned and glared. This unplanned stop was not conducive to his mid-morning prowl. “Like, the Academy Award Oscars?”

“Those are the ones” she replied brightly.

Zach shrugged, “Sure.” He wasn’t all that fond of that type of public appearance, but who was he to turn down Oscar, right?   

“Really?” His agent sounded slightly surprised.

“Yeah. I mean, it’s not my favorite thing to do, but yeah, not a problem.” Zach resumed his walk. Noah flashed him a puppy smile and continued to investigate the inhabitants of the curb-side grass patches.

“Great!” She replied enthusiastically.

“Am I presenting with someone else?” Zach asked as he tripped over a crack in the sidewalk.

“Yeah. They want you to present with Chris Pine.”

“Oh. Okay. Cool.”

“I talked with Chris’s agent yesterday, and he’s already agreed to do it. It’s just a simple presentation Zach, nothing big. No need to worry. They just want to cash in on a little of the Kirk and Spock action. You know, play up the bromance thing a little.”

Zach winced, “Yeah, yeah, got it.”

“Okay, well, I’ll get back with you in a day or so with the details. The awards aren’t until May, so you’ve got some time.”

“Kay, thanks Sheri.” Zach didn’t wait for her reply. He quickly snapped his phone closed and shoved it back in his pocket. 

He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a little bit perturbed at this sudden turn of events. Presenting an award wasn’t a problem. Presenting with Chris was an even lesser problem. What Zach was more worried about was the whole bromance thing.  _When is that going to end?_  He scowled to himself.

Sheri had mentioned Kirk and Spock, but deep down Zach knew that’s not what it was about at all. The KirkSpock issue would last until the end of time, but really the resurgence of interest in that pairing had already simmered down to where it had been before all the hype surrounding the reboot movie. No, this was more about him and Chris than anything else.

Zach had heard about ‘Pinto’, his and Chris’s godforsaken ‘bromance name’, from some far-too-amused friends of his. He’d also heard from countless strangers on the street how awesome he and Chris looked together; “Seriously, you guys would make the perfect couple!” they’d say with irritating enthusiasm. To which Zach would force a smile and shrug, trying his best to politely imply they “go screw a pigeon”.

He and Chris were best friends. That was it. Sure, they displayed an unnerving lack of personal space between them in public, but that’s just what friends did. It’s true that he’d never been so openly close with anyone in his life, but maybe he’d just never had a true best friend before.

Fans could read into it all they wanted—and they would…he’d read some of the fanfiction (by accident, of course)—and that was okay. Zach had no problem with the fans and their imaginations, but he didn’t need the media fueling the already convoluted fire. It was getting old. The fans were creative enough without the paparazzi photos and ceaseless bromance references. And God, but he hated that term. 

“Bromance.” He muttered and kicked at some gravel on the sidewalk in front of him.

//

Zach sat in the limo alone, taking deep breaths, adjusting his neck tie more than was necessary, and rubbing his palms raw on the knees of his tux pants. He was beginning to wonder what had persuaded him to think coming alone was a good idea. He always got too nervous at things like this, and he needed someone there to be the lightning rod for his nerves. Chris had suggested they go together. Zach quickly shot the idea down, and Chris shrugged it off, opting to go with Zoë instead when her date came down with the flu.

Zach hadn’t seen or heard from Chris all day, and wasn’t sure when he was scheduled to arrive at the award’s show. He might be there now, or he might show up just in time to find his seat before the ceremony began. One could never be quite sure with Chris Pine. 

Zach took one last deep breath, let it out slowly, and then opened the limo door. The moment he stepped out he was met with shouts of “Zachary! Zachary! Over here!” issuing from the obscene wall of camera flashes in front of him. He was distantly thankful the chosen venue was Radio City Music Hall. The cooler environment that New York supplied was a welcome relief for Zach. He didn’t think he could have handled the sun and heat of L.A. that evening. 

He straightened up, smoothed out his tux jacket, and pulled himself together into what he hoped was a look of calm regality. Thoughts of  _“what would Clooney do_ ” ran through his head, and then before they could be of any help they quickly turned to thoughts of  _“omygawdgeorgefreakingclooney!”_ as Zach spotted the man himself about twenty feet to his right.

Zach took a deep breath and started making his way down the red carpet as quickly as possible amid the enormous slow-moving crowd.

He spotted John, Karl, and Eric at different points during his journey, having the chance to only wave quickly, saying they’d see each other inside, while he made nice with the cameras and microphones that were shoved in his face. 

He tried paying more attention to the screaming fans than anything else, and used it more often than not as an excuse to politely _not_  answer questions because “I’m sorry, I just can’t hear you, these fans are insane, aren’t they?! *smilesmilelaughwave*”  _aaand topic diverted.  A-thank you_. 

Thankfully the interviews stayed pretty tame and only addressed his choice of attire for the evening, and his thoughts on what it’s like to work with J.J. who had received a nomination for “best director”.

Finally, Zach spied the theater doors. So close he had the urge to shout “Sanctuary” and make a run for it. He resorted to simply quickening his pace and avoiding eye contact with anything holding a microphone.

He thought he was almost in the clear when he heard his name called from somewhere to his right. He made the split-second decision to not be an asshole, and turned to acknowledge his attacker.

He spotted a perky red-head holding out a microphone, with too many cameras to count surrounding her from behind. Zach smiled politely, albeit a little curtly, as she began her barrage of questioning,

“So Zachary, what does it feel like being here tonight? Is this your first time at the Oscars?”

“Yeah, this is my first time here. It’s sort of surreal, actually. It’s amazing.” He smiled and reached up to scratch the back of his neck.

“Are you excited that  _Star Trek_  has received so many nominations this evening?”  _Stupid question,_  Zach thought to himself, and suppressed the urge to roll his eyes.

“Yeah, of course.” He nodded. “We all put so much hard work into this film, and it’s so rewarding to see, first-hand, all the attention and acclamation it’s gotten. I couldn’t be more proud.”  He cleared his throat and shifted back and forth on his feet.

“Do you have any projects in the near future? I know you’ve got work on  _Heroes_ , and you’ve been keeping busy with your own production company, is that correct?”

“Yeah, yeah—“

“Could you tell us a little bit about that?”

The question-and-answer thing went on like that for a few minutes, when Zach finally felt the interview nearing its end.

“Alright Zach, well I know you’ve got to get inside—“

“Yeah.” Zach smiled and started inching away.

“You’re presenting the award for “best actor in a lead role” with Chris Pine tonight, aren’t you?”

Zach cleared his throat, “Yeah. That’s right.”

“So, have you two remained close friends since filming for  _Star Trek_  ended?”

Zach ran a hand through his hair, “Yeah, absolutely. We’re very close. We’ve both been pretty busy lately though, so it’s hard to keep in touch like we did before. But it’s important to keep your friends close, you know? So we try and keep in contact as much as possible.” Zach smiled and started inching away again.

“So I guess you could say the ‘bromance’ lives on then?” she laughed a little too proudly at her question.

Zach reflexively brought his arms up and crossed them in front of his chest. He narrowed his eyes and cleared his throat, “Um,” he huffed out a frustrated laugh, “I don’t like using the term ‘bromance’ for my friendship with Chris. It seems trite. But yeah, we’ve remained friends.”

She giggled nervously, “Yea—“ Zach cut her off,

“I mean, Chris and I are very close. We became almost like brothers over the course of filming. It’s hard not to get close with someone in a situation like that. But I feel our friendship is completely genuine and worth being thought of as more than something as banal and insignificant as a ‘ _bromance_.’” He scoffed openly at the word.

The woman giggled nervously again, “Yes, yes, I know what you mean—“ Zach cut her off again,

“It just gets a little old after a while.” Zach raised his eyebrows, pursed his lips, and shrugged, “But what do I know. I just don’t want this friendship tainted by becoming tabloid fodder. It’s a  _friendship_ ,” he shook his head in bewilderment. “This whole ‘bromance’ thing just baffles me, and it’s quite frankly a little insulting.” Zach started gesturing forcefully with his left hand, while his right hand ran roughly through his hair.  He knew he was rambling, but he didn’t care; he’d had enough.  “It’s a testament to how petty and simple-minded society can be.  People see what they want to see. They’ve taken our ordinary interactions with one another and turned it into something completely false. They want to make a bigger deal out of it than it is, refusing to believe it could ever be something as simple as a friendship—“

“SNEAK HUG!”

Zach managed to keep his footing when two arms encircled him tightly from the side. His eyes widened and he looked down and saw Chris, eyes closed, with a goofy grin on his face, snuggling into his shoulder.

Zach sighed and closed his eyes. He clenched his jaw and looked back up at the interviewer which he couldn’t really see anymore because the sea of cameras around her chose that exact moment to go off all at once, blinding him with flashes.

Zach’s gazed remained fixed forward, while he muttered quietly to Chris, “I cannot believe you just did that.”

Chris squeezed Zach and giggled. Then, just as quickly as he came, Chris was gone. He scampered off, leaving Zach standing wide-eyed and speechless in his wake.

Zach sighed and blinked. “Yeah…” he pursed his lips, “I think I’ve made my point…”

Without any further discussion, he slowly turned and headed towards the theater entrance. He was unable to process what had just happened.  _What_ did _just happen?_  He’d finally been able to address the whole stupid bromance thing, even though he was a little bit huffy about it, and thenChris had to come and _…I don’t even know_ , he thought _…be all…_ “Chris” _about it._  

Zach shoved one hand in his pocket, letting the other run through his hair again, as he made his way to his seat. 

He seriously couldn’t believe Chris had done that. It was the most unfortunately timed moment of spontaneity that Zach had ever been subject to.  He’d been expertly thwarted by his friend and damnit if he couldn’t feel anything but the most unadulterated love for Chris in that moment. He wanted to be angry, but he really wasn’t.

Zach found his seat and sat down. He took a moment to just breathe, and then slowly turned his head to the right. He was met with the bright,  _and fucking glistening_ blue eyes of Chris Pine.

Chris was smiling at Zach. His eyes crinkled and his tongue absentmindedly poked out from between his front teeth.

Zach rolled his eyes and couldn’t hold back the smile that broke out across his face. He laughed and reached over to shove Chris’s knee, squeezing lightly before letting go.

Chris’s smile widened—if that was even possible—and he laughed as he knocked his knee back against Zach’s.

The two giggled quietly and turned their attention forward, unable—and maybe a little unwilling—to quit smiling, as the lights dimmed and the ceremony began.


End file.
